| Six Month Post Placement Report December 2007 Family name: Daniel and Bethlei Gore Child’s name: Zoe Zi Yvonne Gore Child’s Chinese name: Dang Guizi Child’s date of birth: May 05, 2005 Child’s placement date: June 18, 2007 Province of origin: Shanxi Orphanage of origin: Taiyuan A home visit was made with the Gore Family. The Gores were interviewed and I was able to observe their adopted child as well as the interaction among family members. Health and Physical Information • Height – 90 cm, Weight – 16 k • Milestones – This summer she learned to swim, run and jump. • Overall health – Zoe is overall doing well considering her health conditions. In China, she was diagnosed as having 3rd degree cleft lip and palate, both repaired. Upon arrival to the States, the Gore family took her to a Craniofacial Team where she was diagnosed with Goldenhar Syndrome/ Bilateral Hemifacial Microsomia (moderate to severe). Since being home, she has had several surgeries (tubes in ears, removal of brachial arch malformation, rerouting of the parotid gland fistula and multiple oral surgeries). She has seen numerous specialists including Craniofacial Surgeon, ENT, Urologist, Ophthalmologist, Dentist/Oral Surgeon, Audiologist, Psychologist, Speech Therapist and so on. Her upcoming doctor visits include a Gastroenterologist (due to a bowel blockage), a geneticist (to determine if Goldenhar Syndrome is the only condition she has) and repeat visits to the previously mentioned specialists. She will likely have 20 or more surgeries in the next few years to correct some of her facial abnormalities as well as to help save her sight, hearing, feeding and breathing. Upon coming home, she was also diagnosed as Hepatitis C positive. She requires no treatment currently for this condition, only periodic evaluations. • Her Immunizations are not quite up to the expected level of a child in the United States as her blood work showed she had little to no immunity to the vaccines administered in Chin. She is also delayed further due to her multiple illnesses/surgeries upon arrival home. Her pediatrician has a system in place to “catch her up”. She is expected to be caught up by Summer or Fall 2008. • Eating - Zoe is a great eater. She is not picky at all her family reports. She loves a variety of foods and eats whenever anyone is eating, even if she just finished her meal. She feeds herself and is quite independent, using a fork and spoon very well. She drinks from either a sippie cup or open cup and rarely has accidents. • Sleeping - Zoe goes to sleep at 7:30 pm daily and sleeps through the night peacefully. She awakens at 7:30 am. She sleeps in a small crib with her 8 year old sister, Kaley. There is a bunk bed in the room already for when she gets older. Developmental Information • Zoe is developmentally on target or ahead in almost every area. • Speech development – Zoe is acquiring English at an amazing rate, both expressive and receptive. She is able to understand basically everything people tell her, being able to follow complex directions. She is also able to express herself in quite complex sentences (such as, “Mama, may I have some more cheese, please?”). Her delay is in the articulation – due to her incomplete palate, she is physically unable to make certain sounds. She is being evaluated for Speech therapy and possible future surgeries to correct this. However, this does not stand in her way of understanding or being understood. Strangers may have a difficult time understanding her, but her Mother is especially adept at deciphering what she is saying. • Fine motor development – Zoe’s family reports she is quite adept, unusually so, at using pens, crayons, scissors. She can draw several shapes and is working on writing her own name. This proclivity to fine motor skills was noted while the family was still in China adopting her. They intend to help encourage this skill. • Gross motor development/Coordination – when Zoe first came home, she was a bit behind with these skills the family reports. She has 3 older brothers and 1 older sister and they have encouraged her to run, jump, climb, slide, swing, swing and so forth. This has gone a long way in helping her catch up to peers. She is now considered on track. • Social skills/activities – she attends gymnastics classes at the YMCA. She also attends the family’s local church pre-school program. • Education – 3 times a week, Zoe goes to a private preschool. • Interests – She loves to giggle, sing, play piano and draw. • Ability to relate to peers – Zoe has a great ability to make friends instantly. She smiles at people, talks willingly to them, plays appropriately. Therefore, she is great at making new friends, even for a two year old. Having 4 older siblings, she has a great peer group right at home. She engages them in play and loves to have fun. Adjustment • Family - Zoe fits into her family like she has been there her whole life. She loves to play wrestle with Daddy every morning when she wakes up. They often share a bowl of cereal before anyone else gets up. When she needs anything, she goes to Mommy, who is able to understand her challenged articulation. Mommy plays piano and sings so Zoe is almost always sitting right beside her singing and playing. • Siblings - Of her siblings, she is closest to her 8 year old sister, Kaley (who traveled to China with the family for the adoption). They often play together games like dolls and dress- up. Kaley pushes Zoe in a stroller and puts barrettes in her hair. Kaley also picks out clothes for the two of them to wear – usually matching. Zoe also adores her older brother Jacob, age 9. He helps her with lots of tasks like buckling her car seat or filling her cup with juice. Zoe plays with her other brothers Sam (6) and Luke (4) games like building legos and playing light sabers. • Home - Zoe seems to enjoy her new home, having a run of the whole house. There are 5 bedrooms. Zoe shares one with her sister, Kaley. It’s decorated in purple with flowers on the wall. There are numerous toys, especially dolls. There is a playroom dedicated to toys, tv and computer. The house also has a large backyard, patio and pool which Zoe completely enjoys. • School - Currently, Zoe is attending only 3 part days per week at pre-school. She enjoys playing with the other children and truly enjoys learning. She is the first to sit in her seat, open her book and start working. She will get out of her chair and share her work with everyone until they approve. She is learning skills like taking turns, sharing, being quiet and so forth along with the academic skills of shape recognition, craft making and writing/drawing. • Zoe is the 5th adopted child in the home so her adoptive environment is happy. The family cherishes each child and makes no distinction between her or the other children in the home. They all seem to know they are loved and belong. Zoe’s extra health concerns took the family a bit by surprise. However, they have dealt with complex special needs before and they rallied immediately. So once they got a handle on the extent of her health, things began to run very smoothly. They love her so much and expressed how they cannot imagine their lives without her. • The family mentioned Zoe seemed to “know” she belonged with them within minutes of being placed with them. They describe her as funny, very intelligent, strong-willed and talented. The most descriptive word of her though is Survivor. She takes the circumstances she was given and makes the best of them. The Gore family seems to genuinely love this little girl and have shared they cannot wait to see who she becomes in life. They use the word “blessed” when asked how they feel about her being a part of their family. • Additional info** Cultural Information • Since being home from China, most of the family’s time has been spent on Zoe’s health. She has been in a state of near-crisis since arriving home. Therefore, very little has been done towards integrating the Chinese culture into her life thus far. The family is in regular contact with other families in their area who also have adopted children from China. These families do activities on special holidays such as Chinese New Year and so forth. The Gores also have Chinese artifacts, books, cds, dvds. Zoe especially likes the traditional Chinese lullabys. When she is 4, she will be old enough to attend Mandarin classes at a local University. They also plan on taking her back for a Chinese Heritage visit when she is old enough to understand and appreciate it. • The Gores expressed great gratitude for the care Zoe received while in China. They are thankful for the person who found her in the forest and took her to the police station. They are thankful for the care she received at the Taiyuan SWI – who cared for her for about a month and then over-saw her care for the next two years. They are thankful to China Care for taking her into their group home for a year, providing her with 2 necessary surgeries and a wonderful foster home. They are especially grateful to the foster family who cared for her for a year. So much of Zoe’s personality and traits they attribute to them. They know how much she was loved and adored. She is a very secure child, which can only be as a result of a great amount of stability and love. The Gores expressed how they can never begin to thank those who cared for their daughter until she could come home. They will spend a lifetime trying to pay the debt by helping Zoe become all she can be. They say they feel they get the best end of the deal. Submitted by: Date: ____________________ _____________________ Enclosures: ** 4 photos, 2 with parents included ** Certificate of Citizenship copy ** Passport copy ** Adoption decree copy |